For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Trust
The Impression:
I can barely take David Schwimmer seriously as an actor, and
after The Pallbearer his directorial skills are
incredibly in question as well. Thus, his strange notion to
direct a film about internet sex predators has me more
confused than anything else.
The Reality:
You can’t say that Trust is an outright failure
because it does an impressive job of making you
uncomfortable in the creepiest way. I found myself, many
many times, throughout this film turning my head or shutting
my eyes to try to freeze out the images or ideas displayed
on screen. And, if Schwimmer was intending this, it seems a
perfect fit for the story of a girl (Liana Liberato, really
standing up to some dense and disturbing material) who’s
lured, slowly, by an internet sex predator in to a sexual
liaison in a seedy hotel room. This idea is inherently
uncomfortable but the reaction of her peers and family to
the event are equally uncomfortable. Mimicking this viewer,
many turn their heads and try to block out the idea, while
others, Clive Owen’s father character in particular, angrily
try to find meaning in violence. Schwimmer does a fine job
of never sugar-coating anything in anyway, and the film ends
up as a no-holds-barred breakdown of the horrible nature of
rape.
Trust devolves, frequently, in to an arch-afterschool
special. Emotions are earnestly, and painfully splayed
across the screen, and at times, with the subject matter
especially, it becomes sticky and difficult to wade through.
Schwimmer has a few key elements of a good picture here, but
his tendency towards melodramatic segues and overwrought
confrontations drags the film down.
The Lesson:
Films about internet sex predators really really make me
feel nauseous.
- Noah Sanders
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